title: Assessing posttraumatic stress disorder's latent structure in elderly bereaved European trauma survivors: evidence for a five-factor dysphoric and anxious arousal model.
abstract: The three-factor structure of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) specified by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, is not supported in the empirical literature. Two alternative four-factor models have received a wealth of empirical support. However, a consensus regarding which is superior has not been reached. A recent five-factor model has been shown to provide superior fit over the existing four-factor models. The present study investigated the fit of the five-factor model against the existing four-factor models and assessed the resultant factors' association with depression in a bereaved European trauma sample (N = 325). The participants were assessed for PTSD via the Harvard Trauma Questionnaire and depression via the Beck Depression Inventory. The five-factor model provided superior fit to the data compared with the existing four-factor models. In the dysphoric arousal model, depression was equally related to both dysphoric arousal and emotional numbing, whereas depression was more related to dysphoric arousal than to anxious arousal.
authors.affiliation: *The National Centre for Psychotraumatology, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark; †Department of Psychology, University of Aarhus, Aarhus, Denmark; and ‡Department of Psychology, University of Toledo, Ohio.
authors.forename: Cherie
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Armour
authors.forename: Maja
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: O'Connor
authors.forename: Ask
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Elklit
authors.forename: Jon D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Elhai
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001007:Anxiety / Q000145:classification / Q000523:psychology; D001143:Arousal / Q000145:classification / Q000502:physiology; D001601:Bereavement; D003718:Denmark; D003863:Depression / Q000145:classification / Q000523:psychology; D004644:Emotions / Q000145:classification / Q000502:physiology; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008016:Life Change Events; D008297:Male; D008960:Models, Psychological; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000145:classification / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D017741:Survivors / Q000523:psychology